Can Smoking Marijuana Cause High Blood Pressure?

Wellness

Chandana Rao

By: Chandana Rao

Published: Thursday, August 10, 2017, 15:51 [IST]

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Do you indulge in "smoking up", on a regular basis? Or do you have friends who cannot start their day without "taking a hit off a joint"; if yes, then you would definitely be aware of the increasing demand for marijuana, especially in the metro cities, right?

As humans, we have a tendency to develop vices that can make us feel good temporarily; this is a fact.

Ever since the beginning of civilization, vices have existed and even kings, nobles and famous personalities have become slaves to their vices, which is apparent throughout history.

Vices, or "bad habits", are habits that can make a person dependent on them and go to any lengths to keep up the habit.

Drinking alcohol, using recreational drugs such as cocaine, heroine, LSD, etc., gambling, cigarette smoking and so on, are some of the most common vices that we see in people.

Actually, anything that a person becomes addicted to and feels like he/she cannot function without them can be classified as a vice.

Even sex, pornography, smoking marijuana, eating unhealthy foods, etc., can all be considered as vices, as they can harm a person's health and quality of life, when he/she becomes too dependent on them.

For example, there are thousands of cases in which people become addicted to alcohol or drugs and ruin all their assets, lose their jobs, hurt their families, etc.

Now, there is a long-standing debate about the pros and cons of marijuana.

Many people think that marijuana is a natural, medicinal drug which cannot harm a person's health or life.

However, many doctors and psychologists have seen cases of marijuana dependency, in which people become addicted to smoking weed, which can in turn affect their health.

A new research study has found that marijuana may cause or increase BP symptoms in people.

The Link Between Marijuana And Hypertension
As we may already know, high blood pressure, or hypertension, is a condition in which the blood vessels of the body, which carry oxygenated blood to the vital organs like the heart, become constricted.

When the blood vessels are constricted, the pressure of the blood flow against the walls of these blood vessels (arteries) is extremely high, leading to high blood pressure.

Some of the common symptoms of high blood pressure are headache, fatigue, body pain, etc.

If left untreated for a long time, high blood pressure can lead to heart attacks or stroke. Many a times, even with treatment, people with high BP are still at a high risk of death from heart ailments.

Now, a recent study published in the European Journal Of Cardiology said that after conducting surveys, researches noted that people who have used marijuana regularly for more than 6 years are at a higher risk of developing high blood pressure.

The study even said that when people who already have high BP use marijuana, their risk of death due to heart attacks also increases.

The experts opine that marijuana stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, which causes an increase in the heart rate and blood flow, thus inducing hypertension in people.